Just because youcandoesn’t stand for youshould . Make your preferred nonstick cooking pan last for years and years with these expert tips .

Successfully falsify a meal is rewarding , but cleaning up — not so much . Doing dishescan be the most deadening part of the whole summons , especially get rid of stuck - on food , crude oil , and other residue from pans . While it ’s good to go a regular metal pan through the dishwasher , does the same prescript use to nonstick pans ? They always come out coruscate clean , but it ’s valid to worry that doing so could bump off the nonstick coating . Here ’s what an expert advises .

Is it safe to put a nonstick pan in the dishwasher?

The short result is yes — but just because youcandoesn’t entail youshould .

“ you could put nonstick pans in the dish washer , but the cleaners used in the dishwasher combined with the eminent spicy water temperatures may reduce the performance of the nonstick pan ’s lifetime , ” says Jeff Malkasian ofViking , a cookware company . “ PTFE - base coatingstend to be moredishwasher friendlythan ceramic - based nonstick app . The dish washer may actually bowdlerise the performance lifespan of nonstick coating . ”

So if you do n’t have much time to clean up ( or you just do n’t feel like it ) , and the pan is at the end of its life-time anyway , go in front and put it in the dishwashing machine . Then ordain a new one .

Dirty Nonstick Skillet and Wooden Spoon Used to Make a Balsamic Reduction

Credit: Candice Bell / Getty Images

Should you let your pan cool off before washing it?

As presently as you ’re donesautéing your veggiesor cooking adelicious filet mignon , you might be tempted to straightaway hunt your pan under some water and clean it before eat on , but the good thing to do is expect .

“ This is very important with all cookware , whether it has nonstick or not , ” Malkasian explain . “ Always allow the pan to chill naturally . Never offend the pan by running it or submerging it in dusty water . Shocking the pan may cause the metal to distort and cause the pan to be uneven on your stovetop . ”

An uneven pan may lead to scratchy cooking , which you never want . It ’s best to move your nonstick pan onto a burner that was n’t used during cooking , let it cool , revel your repast , and then get to cleaning up subsequently .

The Best Way to Wash a Nonstick Pan

To maintain the nonstick coating andmake your cookware lastas long as potential , Malkasian suggests hand washing it with red-hot soapy water .

“ All nonstick coat have a lifetime , ” he say . “ Depending on habit , that could be up to several age . If you have a PTFE - based nonstick and point out that the public presentation is refuse , wash it with red-hot , soapy piddle and scrub the surface vigorously with the fleeceable side of a scrubby poriferan . That scrubbing will aid remove any residue buildup from the nutrient and restore some of the nonstick carrying out . ”

The Benefits of Using a Dish Brush

It ’s common to want to put nonstick genus Pan in the dish washer — not just because it ’s less work and more convenient , but also because using poriferan is n’t the most playfulness . If that ’s how you feel , using a scrub brush ( plus a little bit of elbow grease ) efficaciously removes remnant grime . They also gargle cleanand can be hygienise in the dishwasher .